VisionPK is the local sight and hearing loss charity for Perth and Kinross. We want anyone who is blind, partially sighted, deaf, or has a hearing loss condition to live a full and independent life. Our work supports our service users and their friends and families by offering emotional and practical support enabling them to continue to live their life.

For the many who have lost sight or hearing, those who see night in the day and hear silence in song, VisionPK has acted as a beacon of hope, guiding the visually impaired and those with hearing loss to a stage where they can stand alone and live life to the full, whether it be in accessing the world with cane training or advising on the best technologies available to aid in daily life. My name is William Kent, the 'Sword of the Sightless', and having lost sight during my teenage years, I was greatly supported by this community, as they taught me to cook and bake safely, and in doing so making me the bane of any seeking to diet. In more recent years, they have offered advice to me and my father who has suffered hearing loss, as well as replacing my blind cane after it had an accident involving a walk, a cliff, and a long fall….

This charity seeks to aid all it can reach, with sight and hearing loss, teaching skills, aiding with technology and providing spaces for events and activities, such as their recent mindfulness course and the opening of a gym to those who cannot access the loud and crowded environment of most gyms. By donating to VisionPK you will help others in a similar position to myself, to embrace life and experience the world in full, and it is for these reasons, we have chosen to support this cause, and to take a leap of faith off the Forth Railway Bridge once more, something that will put the fear of heights to the test. But I will not be going through this trial alone, as my great friend, Sarah Burns will be joining, so we will make this leap together.

Sarah Burns is a third year university student from Mishawaka, Indiana. She is a member of an international honors programme with the University of St Andrews and the College of William and Mary, and has spent the past year studying at St Andrews. She has loved living in Scotland, and has especially enjoyed living near the ocean and travelling Europe with her friends. She also loves to read, scrapbook, and, above all, spend time with her loved ones.

Sarah is incredibly excited to be partaking in the abseil from the Forth Bridge and to be fundraising for VisionPK. She is grateful for the opportunity to support a charity that provides assistance for those with sight and hearing loss.

Sarah met Will at the University of St Andrews in the fall of 2024, and has since become good friends with him. From walking the Fife Coastal Path to eating sweets while watching movies together, some of Sarah’s favourite moments at St Andrews have been shared with Will. She looks forward to creating another great memory with him by participating in the abseil with him in September (even if it is scary). He is one of the kindest, strongest, and most intelligent people she knows. Over the past year, he has continued to inspire her with his perseverance, and she is overjoyed to be fundraising for Vision PK, which has helped Will in the past in times of need.

We thank you all for your support!